But decades of farming on its 40 miles of shoreline allowed fertilizers and pesticides to run into the lake, turning the once-pristine water into something akin to fluorescent pea soup. The pollution led to the mutation and deaths of fish and wildlife.

Eight years ago, the state bought the farms, shut them down and began restoring Lake Apopka.

Now that its water clarity has improved greatly, people are interested in the lake again. But competing interests have created conflict.

At least two groups -- the cities of Apopka and Clermont -- want to siphon water from the lake for lawn irrigation purposes.

Meanwhile, two other groups -- the Friends of Lake Apopka and the Orange Audubon Society -- oppose that idea, saying it could harm the environment and scuttle plans to create ecotourism opportunities around the lake.

Increasing demand

To be sure, water is becoming increasingly harder to come by in Florida, which is experiencing shortages thanks to a building boom, a growing population, periodic droughts, increasing numbers of tourists and agricultural endeavors.

In fact, water withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer system have increased by 538 percent, from 630 million gallons per day in 1950 to 4,020 million gallons per day in 2000, says a 2005 study by the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, irrigation withdrawals increased by 2,065 percent, from 90 million gallons per day in 1950 to 1,949 million gallons per day in 2000.

The same report says the increased water withdrawals have caused lake levels to decline and wetlands to dry up throughout Florida, which has led to saltwater intrusion in many areas.

Meanwhile, the cities of Apopka and Clermont say they need more water to keep up with increasing demand. And it has to come from somewhere.

In fact, the St. Johns River Water Management District says the city of Apopka already needs another 2 million gallons per day to augment its reclaimed water system, which is used for irrigation. Apopka will need an additional 8 million gallons per day for irrigation by the year 2010, and another 16 million gallons per day by 2020, estimates the district.

And the city wants to get at least 5 million to 20 million gallons per day from Lake Apopka, says Hank Largin, spokesman for the St. Johns River Water Management District, which is involved in the restoration efforts and is responsible for regulating the water.

The city's proposal also mentions that the city of Clermont is interested in taking water from Lake Apopka.

Clermont officials could not be reached for comment.

Impact in dispute

If approved, Apopka's proposal to withdraw water from Lake Apopka could have an environmental impact -- but whether that impact would be positive or negative depends on who you talk to.

The city says taking water from Lake Apopka actually would benefit the environment because it would reduce the amount taken from aquifers or other nearby lakes. The lake water then would be cleaned and put into the reuse water system for irrigation, says Richard Anderson, chief administrative officer of Apopka.

However, environmentalists fear water withdrawals from the lake -- which has an average depth of 5.5 feet -- could lower water levels to a point where boating and fishing could be reduced and phosphorous concentrations would increase.

"We object to surface water withdrawal," says Jim Thomas, founder of the Friends of Lake Apopka, a citizen advocacy group.

In addition, the amount of water withdrawn could be difficult to regulate, says Mona Phipps, president of Friends of Lake Apopka. "On a personal level, I'm concerned -- because where do you draw the line?" she asks.

Orange Audubon Society President Loretta Satterthwaite also fears the proposed water withdrawals could set back lake restoration efforts, which already have cost taxpayers millions of dollars. She says the lake may be big, but it's shallow, and taking out millions of gallons of water each day for irrigation could just result in more pollution runoff back into the lake.

Friends of Lake Apopka presented its case to the St. Johns River Water Management District and now is waiting for the district to complete a study of the potential impact of the proposed water withdrawal. The study is looking at things such as hydrologic modeling, lake regulation schedules and water users.

Ultimately, though, says Largin, "it's up to the city of Apopka to decide how they want to use that water."